The downstream effects of infectious disease diagnostics are significant. The appropriate test can optimize anti-microbial use, decrease hospital lengths of stay and unnecessary isolation, reduce health care costs, and most importantly improve patient outcomes by cutting time to proper therapy. At a broader level, diagnostics enable public health surveillance and can aid in detecting and responding to outbreaks to known or emerging infections. Unfortunately, current tests integrated into routine care do not yet optimally meet clinical needs for either individual patients or the public’s health. A report released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) in November, Better Tests, Better Care: Improved Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases, is designed to “raise the red flag about the paucity of new and rapid tests,” according to IDSA President Barbara Murray, M.D. In addition, the report makes a number of recommendations to address unmet needs in diagnostics, including the need for rapid results. Clinical signs of common but serious infections, including those in the bloodstream and gastrointestinal tract, present with nonspecific symptoms. While waiting for test results, many patients with suspected infections are treated with broad, empiric anti-microbial therapy, rather than appropriate therapy dictated by the rapid identification of the infectious agent. “The […]